


Ruining My Game

by hopelessly_me



Category: Marvel, Winterhawk - Fandom
Genre: Bucky is mad, Clint is amused, Gen, Language, M/M, Post Break-up, Ronin-Clint, never going to catch him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:55:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21737953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopelessly_me/pseuds/hopelessly_me
Summary: Clint just wanted to get his task done so he could go back home. Unfortunately for him, a few Avengers showed up, including the one he didn't particularly care to see.For the Mandatory Fun Day prompt "You can't be mean to me! I saved your life!"
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 28
Kudos: 230
Collections: Mandatory Fun Day





	1. Chapter 1

_Shit. Shit shit shit. This looks bad. It’s okay though, we can fix this. Come on, Barton- you’ve dealt with worse._

Clint was _not_ having a good day. It started with waking up late, having zero clean clothes, and a lack of real motivation. Clint wanted to stay in bed all day, not move an inch as he let the world drift by, and that just wasn’t possible. He had _obligations_ , which currently meant making his way through a mansion to take out his target. The man was a grade A asshole who had ruined so many lives that Clint wouldn’t feel bad about killing him; he was doing the world a great justice really. But then the Avengers had to be there and muck it all up for him.

Seeing a flash of metal, Clint pressed his body back against a wall, making himself small. _Great- him._ James Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, aka the guy who replaced Clint so easily on the team it was unnerving. Clint _hated_ that guy, which probably wasn’t fair but oh well- life. The only saving grace for this whole situation was that the entire Avengers unit wasn’t there- it was limited to James, Sam and Steve from what he could tell; while Clint didn’t know Sam personally, he knew the guy was a non-powered human, just like himself. If Natasha was there he would have froze and made mistakes; if Tony was there, well, he had fun toys that would be able to track Clint by body heat and would make his escape harder.

“I think that Ronin fella is here,” Clint heard James say. “I have wounds consistent with his previous hits. Orders?” _I really hope Steve says not to engage. I really don’t need another nightmare._ “Restrain. Got it.” _Fucking lovely_.

Clint heard footsteps coming before he heard a buzzing noise. His eyebrows shot up as he realized the sound of electricity was close by and he inched his way back, slowly bringing his sword up. He thought when he scanned the hall two down that there was a trap set up, he just didn’t know what it was.

“Would you look at what we caught?” Clint felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up at the tone of voice used. “We caught ourselves a Winter Soldier.”

 _Well son of a bitch- the guy just had to complicate things more._ This would have been an easy out for him, take down the ring leader quickly and escape before any of the Avengers could get to him. It would be quick and quiet. But when he would eventually go to see Natasha again in the future it wouldn’t go over well if she found out he willingly left Barnes as a sitting duck. So now he only had one option and it was leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

Clint took a deep breath and rounded the corner, finding one guard behind to watch the hall. Clint slipped in closer before he whistled. The man turned and Clint took the first guard down. He may have lost the element of surprise, but he didn’t really need it. Most of these people weren’t well trained, hell, most of them couldn’t shoot worth a damn, which was a good thing for him. Clint could duck and weave his way through, take out who he needed to, injury those he didn’t, which thankfully was a higher percentage.

All the while he was very aware that the man stuck between walls of electricity was watching him, getting a read, which wasn’t exactly what Clint had wanted. He didn’t need to be assessed, find predictability in his movements- he definitely didn’t need another assassin figuring out his game. He was sure by now he would have sent a message out to the Avengers, given him their location, and that- that wasn’t part of his plan. _This is what I get for being soft, damn it. Stupid Tasha being right all the damn time._

Clint wiped his sword off before he held it by his side, looking at the Winter Soldier as the man _glared_. Clint was thankful his outfit covered everything but his eyes because he was grinning like an idiot beneath it all. He pointed up.

“Toss the comm unit over and I’ll let you out,” Clint offered.

“No.”

“Alright, wait around for round two to come in,” Clint said before he pointed down. “It’s on a track. They’ll close the shock walls in until, well, _bzzt_.” He wasn’t going to argue with the man- in the end it didn’t really matter to him what happened to James Barnes. He could use him as collateral or Clint could walk away, but at least if asked he could say he tried. “Lucky you, this isn’t HYDRA. Unlucky you, they sell to the highest bidder. I just wonder who that would be.”

James swore and ripped the earpiece out before he tossed it over the wall. Clint caught it before he held it up, inspected it. He pressed the button and felt his heart flutter. “Hey Steve- miss me yet?” he asked. “Basement level, three doors down- that’s where you’ll find the papers and devices you are here for. Sadly… you won’t be taking in your target alive. He’s kinda being messy up here.”

He tossed the comm unit to the side before he ran his hand over the wall and pulled away the camouflaging technology to access a screen. He hit a few buttons before his looked over. “I am giving myself a head start here- super soldiers run fast. A minute should do it. Do us both a favor- don’t follow me.”

“I am going to rip-”

“Hey! No sassing me,” Clint said before he hit the timer. “Just remember- you’ll never replace me.”

Clint ran down the hall, putting distance between them. He knew which way was the easiest method to leave, but he also knew the closest, which was the one that won out. It involved climbing but it also provided the best coverage, the best spot to ride it out in case he was pinned down.

Something grabbed ahold of his ankle and there was a yank before Clint went airborne, his head smacking into the ground. Clint squeezed his eyes shut and bit back a yelp as his head spun. When he did manage to open his eyes he was on level with James, a smirk on his face.

“Got him pinned,” James bragged. He walked closer and grabbed Clint’s hood.

“Hey now! Don’t you know it’s common courtesy to not unmask the hero? Do I go around taking Steve’s mask off? Spider-Man’s? I don’t think so!”

“You are not a hero,” Bucky growled. “You are a vigilante assassin pretending to be something better than what you are.” _Ouch, man._

“Hey, you can’t be mean to me! I saved your life,” Clint exclaimed. “What? Going to turn me over? Because I’ll get out. Kinda good like that.”

“You think you can escape the Ice Box?” _Awwww, he is cute- not even the right place._

“Child’s play,” Clint said confidently. He saw Bucky reaching back, saw more metal. He looked up at what was keeping him in place and smiled. “God, you people are so predictable. You think this is going to keep me?” he asked.

“It’s made out of-”

“Yeah, I know, I invented it,” Clint said before he violently jerked his body, colliding with Bucky’s to knock him back. 

He pulled himself up and climbed up the tension before he grabbed a tool out of his pouch. He opened it and pressed a button before cutting through the semi-metal with a laser. _Thank the heavens for old S.H.I.E.L.D. tech._ His stomach flipped again when his body tried to pull him down but he clung on. Too old for this shit- I knew I should have stretched first.

“Are you kidding me?” Bucky asked, grabbing a gun. _Night night gun. Jerk._

Clint waited then swung at the moment he thought Bucky had pulled the trigger, narrowly missing the bullet. He got enough momentum to launch his body to a railing, pulling himself over. Clint pulled out a small pebble from his bag and threw it down, watching it explode into putty around Bucky’s body. There was a part of him that wanted to squeal when the now Pink Winter Soldier realized just who he was.

“Wait-”

Clint pulled his hood back and smirked. “Caw caw, motherfucker,” he said before he blew Bucky a kiss and ran. “That’s what you get for breaking up with me!”

“Are you fucking kidding me, Barton!” Bucky roared with anger and that made Clint stumble and laugh.


	2. Chapter 2

“Alright man with the plan- what’s your plan now?” Bucky taunted.

And Clint- Clint didn’t really care for the snarkiness at the moment. Nor did he have a plan. He narrowed his eyes and hoped if he stood there long enough Bucky would get bored and actually go do his own fucking job instead of being a pain in Clint’s ass.

“I’ve got all day,” Bucky warned him with a musical tone and Clint wondered how many stab wounds it took to silence a super soldier.

“At some point you’ll get bored,” Clint replied.

For the second week in a row he ran into the Avengers, and of _course_ Bucky had to be on the team. Why couldn’t Clint catch a break and it be someone he didn’t care for? A new member- he heard about that Captain Marvel lady, or maybe that other PhD weirdo he suspected fit in well enough with Tony and Bruce.

Clint probably wouldn’t be as mad as he was if he had completed his task first before being pinned in his location. Now he was stuck up high, an easy target for anyone with a gun and a decent aim, and his options were to wait it out or confront Bucky below. And Bucky had threatened to turn him over the last run in, and Clint had a feeling he’d do it if given the chance.

“You know, if you ask nicely, I may let you have a head start,” Bucky reasoned. “What did you give yourself last time? A minute. And that was almost too easy. I’ll even give you two this time to make it a challenge.”

_Oh, I am going to kill him_ Clint thought angrily. He shifted his weight and glanced around the warehouse again. He could make a run for it, try to make a series of jumps, and get to an easy exit. But Bucky was a hell of a shot, and he was still mad about the putty ball. Or at least when he growled ten minutes ago about it taking five washes to get out of his hair he had sounded mad, but sometimes the roughness in Bucky’s voice was confusing, especially from a distance.

“Not going to take the bait?” Bucky challenged.

“You’re not worth the energy, Barnacles,” Clint answered. 

He heard a noise behind Barnes and swung down quickly, gripping the beam he was on when the explosion rocked the building. He tried to see through the dust before there was a screeching gear him. Clint had his sword out and through the neck of a Doombot before it could charge a laser. Clint put his sword away and made those series of jumps as quickly as he could while Bucky was distracted. Before entering the warehouse Clint had the suspicion that this was a trap- he smelled it a mile away, but he liked the adrenaline rush. And yeah- Doom set a fun trap with fun bots that Clint _wasn’t_ going to stick around for, no matter how badly he liked taking down Doombots.

Clint got to an exit point and looked down. _Awww, Barton, no_ he thought as he felt himself step back inside and grab onto a pole to slide down, pulling out a gun to take one out that was on top of Bucky. _This is dumb- this is really dumb._ He had the perfect escape and here he was- being a good guy; or as Bucky delicately worded it a ‘vigilante assassin pretending’. 

“What are you doing?” Bucky growled when Clint pulled his sword back out and took down his third Doombot.

“Oh, you know, just saving your life… again,” Clint answered. 

He heard a loud, high pitched noise and reached up, turning his aids off to focus. Whatever it was, Bucky had heard it too before he covered his ears. Clint swerved past one Doombot and grabbed it from behind, pulling it against his chest and using the lasers to shoot down the others around. Bucky was doubles over at this point and looking like hell, Doombots getting closer and closer slowly before Bucky would take them down.

_Bad plan is bad_ he thought before he finished off the last Doombot around. He grabbed Bucky by the shirt and dragged him backwards and away from where he thought the noise was. Clint didn’t make it far before he was slammed against the wall and he knew he winced, his hands coming up to try to tear Bucky off of him. He flinched when Bucky’s free hand touched Clint’s ear, a chill running through him as it adjusted to the sounds around him.

“You are coming with me,” Bucky said.

“I just saved your life and we are really going to do this again?” Clint asked as Bucky took his hood down. Clint’s lips tugged up. “Well hello. Miss this mug of mine?”

“What are you even doing?” Bucky asked. “What is all this?”

“You ruining my game?” Clint asked, earning him a glare.

He glanced down the hall both ways before he looked back. He knocked Bucky’s arm down to close the gap between them, kissing him. Clint was pleased when Bucky was surprised from the action because it gave him _just_ enough time to reach into his pocket and putting a disc on Bucky’s arm. Bucky must have figured out his game because he jerked Clint to the side, but it was a moment too late. He hit the floor, his arms pulling tightly to his body with small convulsions.

“So… this may come as a… shock to you,” Clint said, trying not to laugh at his own joke. Clint _might_ have stolen this tech from an AIM base, mostly because he heard about it and it excited him. And he figured it wasn’t too strong of a current because, well, Bucky was still awake. But it at least looked strong enough to keep Bucky down.

“I hate you,” Bucky growled.

“Hence the whole ex boyfriends part of our story,” Clint replied dryly. “I just bought myself at least three minutes. Do us both a favor Barnes- tell everyone to back off. This is a low volt discharge. I have stronger.” _Which is a damn lie but he doesn’t know that_ Clint thought.

“Take it off me,” Bucky snarled.

“No can do, Buckaroo. I’d stick around but time is ticking away and, well, with how pissed you look, I am fairly sure you’ll run a hell of a lot faster,” Clint said, turning his other hearing aid on. “Stop. Following. Me,” Clint emphasized before he pulled his hood up and took off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I literally have no self control and when someone says sequel... I mean, I like a challenge? It was only supposed to have two chapters. But then it felt wrong to only have two short chapters so I made it three.


	3. Chapter 3

_Come on- give me something._

No matter where Clint seemed to go, it seemed like he was running into his old friends. He switched countries, he changed up his patterns, which was a hassle- no matter what he did or where he went, he was running into the Avengers. It was maddening because now they knew it was him, which somehow hurt more now. At least before he didn’t have to hear comments, see their faces fall or anything when they caught a glimpse of him.

The only bright side was pissing Bucky off every time they had a run in. Whether it be by taking out the target they were both after or just throwing something at Bucky’s feet to ruin his game, Clint would do things to get under his skin. It was worth seeing the rage there because, well, he deserved it.

This went on for six months, the random run ins. Clint’s favorite was when he turned a magnet on to hold Bucky against a table. Understandably, Bucky was fuming because the only way he was escaping that one was to have a team member find him and power the magnet down. Clint of course made sure someone friendly would find him- he wasn’t planning on letting Bucky get hurt. He could still see the way Bucky glared at him, could still hear the hate filled rampage that came out of Bucky’s mouth, as if Clint didn’t deserve them by that point. Clint flinched towards the end of that tirade, never seeing Bucky so angry; he had never heard Bucky talk like that and he thought maybe he pushed the line a bit.

It was all fun and games as long as Clint knew people would be safe. He wasn’t willing to put himself in danger just to have a little fun; and no matter how much he wanted to taunt Bucky more, he only did it when he was sure Bucky wasn’t in danger either. Sure, he almost got caught a few times, narrowly escaping Steve and Tony once, but Clint was still running his game at that point.

But now-

Bucky was still asleep, still breathing a little irregularly which had Clint staying up when all he wanted to do was sleep off his own pain. Bucky looked like he was in pain but Clint couldn’t find a wound on him, and the bruising didn’t look bad enough to be a break. He was beyond his scope at the moment, which was only pressing on his nerves more; Clint didn’t like not being in control of a situation but he was so far gone at the moment he wasn’t sure how to reel it back in.

Clint just happened on the event on his way back from the archery range. He had finally picked his bow back up, finally forgave himself enough to find comfort in something familiar, and was actually in a good mood. But when he heard a loud commotion in a nearby structure followed by a very familiar voice Clint took off like a rocket. He didn’t stop to think of it were a trap, didn’t stop to consider the fact he was in his normal, every day clothing with no protection- he just needed to get to Bucky.

_I should call Tony_ he thought. He didn’t know how they managed to drug the super soldier and wasn’t betting on it being a healthy mix of chemicals. But calling them for support meant he was on the run again, and while Clint didn’t mind being nomadic at the moment, he knew he wasn’t in the condition to make a run for it.

Clint lowered his hand and touched Bucky’s forehead, but there still wasn’t a fever. He wasn’t sure if that should be comforting or not at this point. He just needed Bucky to wake up so he knew he was okay. He trailed his hand back down to the ground and tapped the back of his head against the wall behind him. _Just my luck_. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Clint?”

Clint wasn’t going to start crying when he heard his voice, even if he felt it start straight from his gut. He looked down and saw the groggy face of Bucky on his lap. Clint gave him a weak smile. “Hey Buck,” he whispered. “Took you long enough to wake up.”

Bucky stared at him before he hissed and sat up. Clint smiled more at that because he knew exactly what was coming next. Bucky spun and started peeling back Clint’s shirt to inspect the gunshot wound before he glared up.

“What are you-”

“Hey, you can’t be mean to me. I kinda saved your life… three times now. You’re welcome,” Clint chuckled, groaning the moment Bucky put pressure over the wound. “...ow.”

“I swear to God, Clint,” Bucky said. “Where is my shit?”

“Dunno.” Bucky narrowed his eyes and _that_ made Clint flinch. He reached a hand up to hold onto Bucky’s wrist. “I’m fine.”

“You have a gunshot wound! And it’s- how is this fine to you?” Bucky shouted angrily.

“Had worse,” Clint muttered, trying not to be embarrassed by that fact.

“That is not a goddamn competition you should have with yourself,” Bucky snarled. “Where is the dumb costume? The sword?”

Clint’s lips tugged up a moment before the smile died down. “Heard ya on my way back from the archery range. Kinda… came in this.”

“Give me your phone.”

“Didn’t bring one.”

“Goddamn it, Clint!” Bucky swore. He grabbed Clint’s hands and roughly pressed them to the shoulder wound. Clint squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself not to throw up from that pain. “Stay.”

“Bucky-”

“No. No, you listen to me now,” Bucky demanded. “Whatever you are doing, whatever this Ronin thing is- it’s ending. You are coming back and we are all going to pretend this never happened.”

“You can’t make me-”

“I’m not letting you get yourself killed because-”

“I’m not-”

“- we all pushed you away when you needed us,” Bucky finished. Clint shifted and tried to put more space between them when Bucky crouched down to his level. “What were you thinking? You could die from this sort of wound, you idiot.”

Staring at Bucky, Clint finally felt something settle in him. The way the man was angry, concerned and furious- maybe things weren’t as bad as Clint thought they had been. Maybe he could settle back into his old skin, be that person again. He was tired, not of traveling, but of running from his problems. And if Bucky was willing to forgive him, then he sure as hell knew Natasha would. And that could be enough, at least enough to make it worth a shot.

“Bucky,” Clint said weakly as Bucky got to his feet. “I’m sorry.”

“You can apologize when we get home,” Bucky sighed, his voice softened. “Can you walk?”

Clint nodded. He was slow to get to his feet before Bucky grabbed him and pulled him into an embrace. Clint was tense for all two seconds before he leaned more into Bucky, setting his head against the top of Bucky’s. Bucky tilted his head up and caught Clint’s lips and yeah- Clint could make this work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two in one day! I might have done #3 before #2. But #3 came a lot easier to me. Anyway- enjoy!


End file.
